Darkest Days
by DragonBlood-Katana
Summary: A SolAngelo thing I wrote cuz I was bored... I'm really bad at summaries... just read the thing...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Will's POV

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, propping my feet up on the infirmary bed in front of me as I closed my eyes. In the darkness behind my eyelids, my gaze was met by equally dark, sad brown irises set into a pale face beneath tangled black hair. I opened my eyes with another sigh. Nico di Angelo had been haunting my every thought ever since his forced three day stay in the infirmary after the war with Gaea. I felt strangely protective of the gloomy son of Hades, and if I was honest with myself, the odd attraction scared me. On the other hand, I didn't know if I was scared for me or for him.

Recently, Nico's father had been sending him out to round up the more unruly spirits that had escaped from the Doors of Death and were giving him and Thanatos some trouble. Of course, that meant that Nico was shadow-traveling a lot, sometimes all over the world. And, the last couple of times, his injuries had been bad enough to warrant the use of a bit of my Apollo healing magic. For some strange reason, I was worried that I had said or done something to make him upset and throw himself recklessly into danger.

I was jerked violently from my reverie by the sound of the infirmary door crashing open, followed by a solid-sounding thump. I turned around, expecting a minor injury being played up by an over-dramatic camper, or maybe a not-so-minor injury. Either way, I didn't think it would be anything urgent or life-threatening. I was so wrong.

Nico di Angelo was collapsed in the doorway, face up in a slowly growing pool of his own blood. He was obviously unconscious, but that's not the reason my heart clenched in terror. What scared me most was that, in the bright light of the midday sun, he looked to be partially made out of shadows, giving him a half-transparent, smoky appearance.

My healer's instinct took over, tearing through my panic. I lurched to my feet and rushed over to him, kneeling down. I barely felt the warm, sticky blood that was soaking through the knees of my jeans. All I knew was that Nico looked mostly dead, and that panic was making my heart pound at what felt like a million miles an hour.

I gently laid a hand between Nico's shoulder blades, a fresh wave of terror washing over me as my hand sunk about a centimeter into his back, like it was air. I swallowed my fear and shook him slightly, looking for a response. He whimpered, and a breath I hadn't realized that I'd been holding whooshed out in relief. At least he was still alive and if he was alive, and if he was alive, I could save him.

Being as gentle as I could, I slid my arms underneath him, one cradling his head and the other beneath his knees. I slowly lifted him up, flinching slightly as he gasped in pain, his eyes fluttering slightly. Slowly, so as not to accidentally jar and of the injuries he may or may not have had, I walked over to the bed I had been using for a footrest earlier and placed Nico on it, biting my lower lip worriedly as his blood almost instantly began to stain white sheets. I took a pair of scissors and carefully cut open the front of his shirt, hoping that the blood-drenched cloth wasn't the only thing keeping him together as I pulled it away from his bare chest.

A cursory glance told me that the wound wasn't going to be fatal right off the bat because if hadn't gone through anything vital. On closer inspection, though, I realized by the amount of blood that there was more than one injury. I rushed to the cabinet across the room and grabbed a bottle of water and a dry rag, then went back to Nico's side. By now I knew that the bleeding had slowed, but that could've been either a good or a bad thing.

I soaked the rag in water from the bottle, then began to slowly ring it out over his torso. Blood, light pink and diluted by the water, ran off him in sheets, but it wasn't replaced by fresh, dark crimson fluid. As the blood cleared, my throat tightened at the fear of seeing the four long, inch-deep gashes that ran from his collarbone to his hip. I looked at his shirt, cursing myself for not noticing that it was practically shredded in the front.

After cleaning the wounds, I pushed the jagged edges of the wounds open gingerly to make sure that there was nothing embedded in them. They had not been clean cuts, jagged and torn as they were. I winced slightly as I imagined how painful they must have been. On the plus side of the situation, they looked less than a day old, so infection hadn't had a chance to set in. On the other hand, the edges of the injuries—which I assumed were claw wounds—were beginning to turn green with what was obviously poison.

Steeling myself, I gently laid my hand over Nico's chest, palm down and fingers splayed. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, concentrating. A golden glow coated my hand as I began to sing softly, pouring all of my energy into the healing. The glow curled into thin golden tendrils that wove their way into the tears in the son of Hades' flesh, probing gently. After a few seconds, the green coloring began to fade from the edges of the claw wounds as my healing magic drove the poison out of Nico's body. It took about five minutes to remove all of the poison, which was surprisingly strong. By then, I was drained of my magical capacity, and there were still four gaping tears across his torso. It looked like I was going to have to stitch them shut and let nectar, ambrosia, and natural healing do the rest.

As I began to stitch the wounds shut, being as careful and gentle as I could, Nico chose that moment to wake up. His eyes flew open and his back arched, his jaw clenching shut on what I knew was a scream of pain. I dropped the needle and cupped his face in my hands, holding his head still.

"Death Boy! Nico! Stop! It's alright! You're safe!" I looked him dead in the eye as I spoke. I tried to make my voice soothing and calm, but panic choked it and it sounded strangled even to my own ears.

Slowly, recognition dawned in his eyes and he calmed down, relaxing back down onto the bed. He was still tense, though, and he was breathing heavily. I could tell that he was in a lot of pain.

 _"Will,"_ my name escaped his lips as a gasp and I nodded, stroking his cheek soothingly.

"It's alright, Nico. You can't move, though, or it's going to hurt worse. Do you understand?" I spoke in the calming, gentle voice I only used for small animals and the wounded. He nodded slowly, his beautiful brown eyes never leaving my face.

 _Oh gods, my face._ It was at that moment that I realized that I was so close to him that our noses were almost touching. I felt a blush heat my cheeks and I pulled away, disguising the moment by grabbing a water bottle full of nectar from the table next to the bed.

"Nico, do you think you can drink some nectar?" he nodded again and I uncapped the bottle. I put a hand beneath his head, tilting it up slightly and putting the neck of the bottle to his lips. As he drank slowly, I found myself blatantly staring at the way his mouth moved.

I mentally slapped myself for noticing something like that when his life was in danger. When Nico's breathing slows and evened out, the nectar lessening the pain, I gently pulled the bottle away, screwing the cap back on and setting it back on the bedside table. His eyes closed and he fell back to sleep.

Sighing in relief, I went back to stitching the claw wounds shut. Hopefully, next time he was awake I would be able to ask him what had happened. I knew Nico was an insanely powerful demigod, and an amazing fighter to boot, so if there was a monster out there that could incapacitate him like this with one swipe of its claws… I shook my head, shoving the thought to the back of my mind. Right now my focus was on keeping Nico alive and stable, not the fate of the world in the probably-not-so-near future.

After I finished with the stitches, I carefully wrapped bandages around Nico's torso, trying not to think too much about how intimate the gesture would be under normal, everyday circumstances. When that was finished, I sat back, my eyes drawn to Nico's face. In his sleep, he looks sweet, angelic—like his last name, _di Angelo: of angels_ in Italian _._

 _He's definitely something angelic._ I thought, then grinned at how ironic it was that I thought that about the son of Hades, when his father was about as far from an angel as you could pretty much get.

I sobered then. I shouldn't be having thoughts like that at all… especially not about _Nico di Angelo,_ for the love of the gods. But… I sighed, putting my face in my hands. I didn't know what it was that drew me to the child of the Underworld, but, somehow, I didn't think I wanted it to go away.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Will's POV

For the next three days, I kept a careful, constant eye on the still-unconscious son of Hades, running on zero sleep and a lot of very caffeinated black coffee that the Stoll brothers had brought into camp—against Chiron's no-caffeine rule. By that point, though, the caffeine running through my system was the only thing keeping my awake and semi-functional, so I didn't particularly care if it pissed Chiron off.

Just after I had finished changing his bandages again, Nico groaned sleepily and cracked his eyes open. I was instantly awake; it was the first sound he had made in days. The boy of the Underworld blinked the sleep out of his eyes, looking around blearily. Finally, his gaze locked on me.

"Solace?" his voice came out rough and gravelly, since he hadn't used it in days.

I put what I hoped was a warm smile on my face as I helped him sit up, my heart twinging every time he winced in pain. "You almost gave me a heart attack, di Angelo. You almost died."

The notion didn't seem to scare or surprise him. Then again, I guess death wouldn't scare the child of Hades. "Sorry, Sunshine, but even I have to rest a bit every now and again."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler by the door, handing it to him and sitting back down. "A _bit?_ Do you have any idea how long you've been unconscious for, Death Boy?"

He shook his head, draining half the bottle in one swallow. He winced again as he moved his arm.

"Three, almost four days,"

That news did surprise him. His eyes widened as he stared at me incredulously. " _Three days?_ "

I nodded and he burst into motion, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. When he tried to stand up, however, his legs gave way beneath him and he crumpled to the floor with a cry of pain that he had obviously tried to conceal. I caught him just before he hit the ground, wrapping my arms around him.

"You idiot! What the hell was that for? Are you trying to reopen your wounds?" I kept my voice soft, despite its admonishing tone, as I gently lifted him back onto the bed.

He struggled weakly inn my arms, glaring at me in annoyance. "I have to talk to Chiron. It's important."

I pursed my lips skeptically, keeping my hand on his shoulder in case he tried to get up again. "Not more important than your health, di Angelo. I'm not letting you leave this bed until I deem you healthy enough, got it? Doctor's orders."

Was it my imagination, or was Nico slightly flushed? I knew he didn't have a fever; I couldn't feel one from the bare skin of his shoulder. Did that mean that he—? No. I shook the thought from my mind before it led me down a path of thought that I really didn't want to go down.

I don't have a choice, do I?"

I broke into a grin, despite myself. "Nope. Like I said, doctor's orders. Now, go back to sleep, Death Boy. You need it."

He snorted softly, regarding me balefully. "Says the one who had bags under his eyes so dark that he looks like a zombie. How long has it been since _you_ slept?"

I felt myself flush in embarrassment as I smiled sheepishly. "Well, it you wouldn't insist on trying to die, maybe I'd be able to sleep!"

My blush darkened as I realized that I had practically just admitted how worried I had been about him. However, instead of the snarky reply I had been expecting, Nico's expression softened fractionally.

"Get some sleep, Solace. I won't run off or die while you do, promise on the Styx and everything. Actually," he smirked and closed his eyes, yawning, "I think I might get some more sleep, too."

He rolled over onto his side, facing away from me. I stared at him in blatant amazement before realizing that what he had said was true—I was exhausted. Before I knew it, my eyelids were heavy and it was nearly impossible to keep them open. I got up and stumbled to the bed next to Nico's, barely hitting the mattress before my mind spiraled into welcome sleep.

I hated demigod dreams. Seriously, they had to be the most annoying things ever. It's like, you're sleeping peacefully, actually _resting_ for once, then you get shoved into a vision or some other thing that ruins it completely. And that's exactly what happened to me.

In the dream, I found myself in a dark, damp stone cave. All around me was swirling, grey-green fog. Not fog, I realized—it was the shadowy, spirit-like coils of a giant serpent… that was staring right at me with glowing, fiery eyes.

 _William Solace, spawn of Apollo._ A raspy voice echoed in my head, and I knew instinctively that it belonged to the snake before me.

I wanted to scream: _How do you know my name? Who are you?_ But my voice wouldn't work. I could only stare back at those two red eyes that seemed to set my nerves on fire.

 _I have waited longer than your puny mortal mind can process for this day to come. This is the day I have been anticipating. This is the day Gaea raised me from Tartarus for. This is the day when I return to haunt and destroy your father as he haunted and destroyed me so many years ago. And, as he destroyed me with his children, I will destroy him with his._

The snake opened its jaws just as I fell back into a deep, thankfully dreamless sleep where the disturbing words of the snake couldn't reach me.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Nico's POV

I waited, tense, for Will Solace's breathing to slow and even out before turning over onto my back and staring at the ceiling. I felt my cheeks flush with shame as I remembered how easily I had crumpled and how he had had to catch me. Embarrassment deepened my blush as I thought about how it had felt to have his arms around me. For some reason, his touch didn't make me want to push him away like everyone else's did. Instead, I wanted to lean into him and just breathe him in, to rely on his warmth and strength. But, of course, I couldn't. He wasn't… like I was… like _that._ Maybe this was Eros' idea of a prank. First Percy, now Will.

At the thought of the god of love, my blood began to boil with rage. Even now, I couldn't help but feel humiliated and harassed by the way he had forced me to admit my crush on Percy. Especially in front of _Jason,_ of all people—the all-powerful, supposedly oh-so-perfect Jason Grace. He hadn't been rude or even judgmental about it, but still…

I sighed and shoved the thought to the back of my mind where I kept all my painful memories. I wouldn't think about it. It wouldn't do me any good; it never did. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to sleep.

Unfortunately, it worked a little too well for my liking.

I realized that with in the state I was in, I wouldn't be able to control my dreams, even a little bit. So, I was forced to watch as agonizing shards of memory played back in my head: My mother, smiling at me barely an hour before she died; Bianca smiling as she said goodbye to me just before leaving on the quest that would end her life. Percy's shocked expression as I admitted my crush to him. Thin it morphed into full-blown scenes from my past, instead of flashes of images: the searing pain and swirling reds and oranges of the River Phlegethon. Percy yelling at me as he hung over the side of the pit into Tartarus: _The other side, Nico! Lead them there!_ And then the wave of helplessness that drowned me as I watched him fall with Annabeth into the depths of a true hell I knew only too well. I tried to close my eyes, but the memories that cause me the most pain kept flowing through my sleep. Now I was back in Croatia, looking at Eros' smug face as I finally admitted my crush—to myself and to him. I braced myself, but now it wasn't a memory plaguing my dreams—this was just a mental representation of my repressed guilt and fear.

I watched as the flames of the Fields of Punishment sprang up around me. When I tried to turn around, to move at all, I found that I couldn't budge. I stood helplessly as three figures emerged from the depths of the fire. First was Bryce Lawrence, his form flickering between the cold flesh he had worn in life and the ghostly, skeletal apparition I had turned him into. Second came Octavian, his body half coated in molten Imperial Gold. Thirdly was the face I feared the most, out of all my ghosts and demons: Leo Valdez, his flesh burnt and blackened or melted off his bones. All three pairs of eyes had been replaced with swirling orbs of angry, flickering black fire.

As one, they opened their mouths and spoke, their voices echoing and eerily similar. _"Nico di Angelo, you killed us,"_

A scream began to build in my throat, and I pushed it down as they began to slowly approach me. _"We will kill you as you killed us,"_

They lunged for me, their fingers long and claw-like as they reached for me, screeching hungrily. All I could do was stand there and scream… and scream… and scream…

"Nico! Wake up! It's just a dream!" Will Solace's panicked voice cut through the nightmare and I latched my consciousness onto it, forcing myself awake. My eyes snapped open and I cut myself off mid scream as Will wrapped his arms tightly around me, murmuring comfortingly in my ear and rubbing soothing circles on my back, Still half in the nightmare, I pressed my face into his shoulder and instinctively gripped his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt in my fists.

As my sense slowly started to return and I calmed down, I began to notice other things. I was drenched in cold sweat, and I could feel tears drying on my cheeks. I could feel myself trembling, too, and I was still choking back sobs and screams. In some point, which I had missed in the midst of my panic, Will had started running his fingers gently through my hair. I closed my eyes, allowing myself a moment more to enjoy his embrace, before I swallowed and pushed gently against his chest.

"I'm fine, Solace," I lied. I hated how shaky my voice was, and I wiped away my tears so I hoped he wouldn't notice.

He snorted softly and pulled away just enough to look me in the eye. "How can you say that? You were screaming louder than a banshee. That had to be one hell of a nightmare."

I looked away, a faint blush heating my cheeks. "I'm fine. You can let me go now."

He bit his lower lip, not believing the not-so-convincing lie, but slowly pulled back. His blue eyes, as light and beautiful as the sky, watched me with… was that _concern?_ Was the son of Apollo actually _worried_ about me? I pushed the thought away. Will was worried about everyone he treated; I was nothing special to him.

"What was that about, Nico? Why were you so…" He trailed off, and I could see his hesitation to call me _terrified._

I sighed and looked away, ashamed that he had seen me so upset, so desperate. "It was just a nightmare, Solace. Nothing big."

My tone was flat, not inviting any further questions or discussion. Will didn't seem to get the not-so-subtle hint.

"Nothing big? Nico, you were freaking out. You were thrashing around and screaming so much that for a second there I thought you were going to bite your own tongue off. I know you well enough to say for sure that you don't react like that to ' _nothing big.'_ Please tell me what happened. I can help." He sounded genuinely concerned, but still… I didn't want to admit that the people I had killed haunted me so badly, _especially_ not to him.

I crossed my arms and glared at him as best I could with my heart still pounding almost painfully in my chest. "I'm telling you, it's nothing, Solace. Even if it was something, it's none of your business, so drop it."

A brief, hurt look flashed across his ace before his normal, warm, understanding smile was back. "Well, alright. But if you need someone to talk to, you can come to me, alright? I won't judge."

I felt a pang of guilt rip through my chest as I nodded curtly. I hadn't meant to hurt him; I just wasn't used to people trying to be kind to me. "Sure, whatever,"

He nodded and ruffled my hair gently. I blushed, his hand warm on my hand. I resisted the odd urge to close my eyes and purr like a cat. When he stopped, I felt strangely disappointed, but didn't comment.

"Will you be alright for a bit, Nico? I'm going to go shower, if that's alright with you."

I leaned back and closed my eyes. "Why are you asking me? I'm not a little kid. I'll be fine."

I heard him get up and walk to the door, then the slight squeak of the hinges as the door opened and shut behind him. As soon as he was gone, I rolled over and buried my face in the pillows, ignoring the lance of white-hot pain the motion sent through my torso. I cursed Bryce and Octavian and Leo for haunting me. I cursed the gods for being so removed from the lives of their children. I cursed Will Solace for being so gods damned perfect. And, most of all, I cursed myself for falling for another unattainable, infuriatingly straight hero.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Will's POV

I leaned against the closed infirmary door and sighed, closing my eyes. I felt strangely upset at how little Nico seemed to want me around. I knew it was ridiculous; he didn't really like to be around people in general. But the primal instinct within me that told me to protect him at all costs was stronger now. After seeing him so desperate, so… helpless, I felt like I had started to just barely grasp just how much pain and anger and fear he hid behind that cold, distant masked he always forced himself to wear. I wanted him to be free of that mask, at least when he was around me.

I shook my head, shoving the thought as far away from me as I could, and walked across the green to the Apollo cabin. Like I had told Nico, I needed a shower, and badly. I pushed open the cabin door, not surprised to see that all of my siblings were already up and bustling around, as usual. As I walked in, Kayla clapped my on the shoulder.

"It's good to see you, Will. I take it this means that Nico's alive?" She asked.

I sighed; out of the entire camp, only she, Cecil, and Lou Ellen knew that I was gay. I nodded wearily and moved past her, making a beeline for the bathroom. I quickly stripped and got into the shower, sighing in relief as the warm water seemed to wash away the stress of the last few days. I closed my eyes and tilted my head up so that the water sprayed directly down onto my face. A few drops of water went up my nose, making me sneeze, but I didn't care. All I could see was the terrified, pale face Nico had worn as he had woken up. I could still the tears that he had tried to hide, and his screams still rang in my ears. It killed me to see him so shattered, but I couldn't do anything if he wouldn't let me, and from the look of things, it would take a lot to get him to trust me enough for me to do something. I just hoped it would be before he ended up seriously injured… or worse.

After I had finished with my shower, I walked back to the infirmary, being as quiet as I could in case he was asleep again. He wasn't. I found him staring at the ceiling. He looked as forlorn and vulnerable as I had ever seen him, but the expression was gone as soon as he saw that I had walked in.

"Back already, Solace?" his voice was steady and carefully emotionless, not a hint of the shakiness it had held earlier present in his cool tone.

"Well, I can't let you waste away and deteriorate. You owe me at least another three days of my supervision, doctor's orders."

The words were out of my mouth before I knew I was saying them. I felt my face heat up as I blushed, panicking internally. _Three days? Three more whole days, just you and Nico? What in the name of Hades are you saying?_

Nico, on the other hand, just sighed wearily. "I don't really have much of a choice, do I? It's not like I can just get up and walk away."

I smirked. "Of course you can't. It's a miracle you can even speak right now." As I spoke, my mood darkened. "On that note, what gave you those wounds? They look like claw marks, and I had to use all of my healing magic just to get the poison out of them."

His eyes flicked away from my face and his jaw clenched almost imperceptibly. The flicker of emotion I saw pass over his face wasn't anger like I had expected; it was a mixture of fear and pain. "I'm only going to explain it once, and Chiron needs to be here for it,"

A flash of shock lit up my nerves. What was so horrible that even Nico di Angelo, the son of the god of the Underworld, wouldn't be able to talk about more than once? I knew that he never talked about his journey through Tartarus, but in that case, it was a miracle that he had made it out alive, much less sane. But this… this had been here, in the mortal world. I had never known Nico to be scared of any mortal, monster, demigod, or even god. I knew that he and Jason Grace had had a violent run-in with Eros in Croatia, but, then again, who would be afraid of the god of Love?

I shook myself out of my thoughts and nodded at Nico. "Alright, whatever you say, Death Boy,"

He glared at me indignantly. "I thought I told you not to call me that, Solace,"

I smirked and ruffled his hair. "I'm not going to stop, you know,"

He rolled his gorgeous eyes and shifted so that he was on his side, facing away from me, muttering, "Whatever, Solace,"

I chuckled and was about to respond when I heard the conch shell signal that it was time for dinner. Bewildered, I stared at the clock in surprise. It had gotten late. Luckily, it looked like I wasn't the only one who had been shocked; Nico, who had rolled back over, looked equally taken aback.

I smiled, but it was a bit forced. For some reason, I didn't want to leave; I wanted to stay with Nico and keep bickering playfully like this. Instead, I stood up and walked towards the door, turning to look back at Nico just before I left.

"I want you to try and go back to sleep. It's the best thing for you at this point; you've had as much nectar and ambrosia as you can for the moment. I would've used unicorn draught, since I know that it works better for you, but…" I shrugged. "It's rare, and we kind of ran out."

He nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards into a tiny, weak smile. "Whatever you say, Sunshine,"

I nodded and left, closing the door softly behind me. As I made my way to the dining pavilion, I couldn't help but wonder if I had imagined the slight shake in Nico's voice as I had walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Nico's POV

The room seemed twice as dark as soon as Will left it. I stared up at the ceiling, watching the shadows on the white-painted wood grown longer in the setting sun, alone with my ghosts, demons, and thoughts.

I couldn't decide which of the three scared me most.

As darkness fell, the only illumination in the infirmary became the dim silver light of the waning moon. A flash of fear was quickly forced into the darkest corners of my heart. I was Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades, and I would _not_ be afraid of the dark. Even as I told myself that, I couldn't help but wish that Will hadn't left. His very presence seemed to calm me down, to focus me. My feelings for Will were different than my crush on Percy had been. Not worse, just… different; more natural, almost. Whereas being around Percy had sped everything up and made me lose all pretense of cold, emotionless, rational thought, Will seemed to make time stop. I could see the qualities of their fathers in them both. Percy was wild and energetic and always raging to destroy anything that got in the way of him and his friends like the sea. Will was strong and steady and bright and gentle and constant and calm, like sunlight.

 _But you don't feel that way about Percy anymore._ A small voice in the back of my mind whispered. It sounded disturbingly like Eros. _You haven't for a long time. So why should you be comparing them?_

I pushed that train of thought away, firmly locking it away. I refused to fall in love again. I would never give gods like Akhlys and Eros the satisfaction of watching me suffer and pine for someone who would never return my feelings again. I wouldn't—I _couldn't._ One more time and I would break and leave everything behind for good.

I lay in the bed for a good forty five minutes, trying not to think, before I heard the soft click of the door being pushed open. Without even turning my head to see who it was, I knew it was Will. My heart skipped a beat as he sat down in the chair next to my bed. I looked over at him as he pulled something out of his pocket.

"Hungry, Death Boy?" he gave me one of his soft smiles that made me feel like my insides were melting as he held out a Ziploc baggie of barbecue pork and a clear plastic Thermos full of dark liquid that I knew from the smell was coffee.

My mouth watered and I sat up, ignoring the stab of pain that laced across my chest at the motion. I let a genuine smile spread across my face as I eagerly grabbed at the food. "I'm _starving,"_

Will snatched the food away and tutted. "Nope. You have to eat slowly, di Angelo, or it's all going to come back up."

I glared at him and my stomach growled loudly. "Fine. Just hurry up and give me the food, Solace, or my stomach is going to start eating itself."

He chuckled and opened the baggie, the tantalizing smell of barbecue wafting toward me. It was all I could do to keep from drooling; I hadn't realized how hungry I was until food was right in front of me. My hunger was momentarily forgotten, though, when Will pulled off a chunk of the meat and held it to my mouth.

I tried to keep the flush I felt on my cheeks from showing too much in the darkness. "What are you doing, Solace?"

"Feeding you. Now say _ah._ " Reluctantly, I parted my lips and he pushed the pork into my mouth.

He continued feeding me, and I thanked every deity I had ever heard of, Greek or otherwise, that it was so dimly lit in the room. My face was burning, and I knew that my pale skin was dark red with an embarrassed blush. It felt oddly comforting to have someone else take care of me like that, even though I knew that I would have been seriously pissed off if it had been anyone but Will.

I promptly felt angry at myself for thinking that. _You can't fall for him._ I reminded myself; even though I had a horrible suspicion that I was too late to prevent that from happening.

After about twenty minutes, Will fed me the last piece of the barbecue, then handed me the coffee. I raised my **eyebrows** skeptically. "So I can't eat for myself, but I can drink?"

He laughed softly. "Well, I _could_ feed you that, if you wanted me to."

I quickly shook my head, taking a drink of the still-warm, very caffeinated beverage. "No, thanks, I'm good,"

I downed the coffee in a few more swallows, then set the Thermos down on the table next to my bed. A wave of exhaustion washed over me; caffeine had always made me tired. Still, I didn't want to sleep, because I knew that nightmares, worse than those from the night before, waited for me. But the coffee and the strain of the massive wounds across my chest took their toll and I lay back onto the pillows, falling asleep almost instantly.

As my eyes closed, I saw a flash of Will's soft smile and felt him draw the blankets up to my chin. As I was pulled into the darkness of sleep, I thought—maybe I dreamed it—that Will's hand gently closed around mine.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Will's POV

As Nico fell back asleep, I gently twined my fingers with his. His hand was soft and warm, not cold like I had subconsciously expected. His breathing was slow and even, and I hoped that he wasn't having anymore nightmares. Even so, I couldn't help but wonder exactly had made him panic like that. I obviously wouldn't make him tell me, since it was probably personal, but still…

My thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. I quickly let go of Nico's hand. I turned around, expecting Kayla or someone else who was concerned about Nico or I—maybe Jason—but instead I found Clovis, the son of Hypnos, standing in the doorway and looking as alert and urgent as I had ever seen him.

"Clovis? What's going on?" I kept my voice low so I didn't wake Nico up. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to Nico's, his eyes flicking to the sleeping son of Hades.

"Thank the gods he's asleep. I need to talk to you, Will." My eyes widened in surprise. Why would Clovis make the effort to get himself out of bed and functional just to talk to _me?_

"Sure. What is it?" I asked.

He sighed. "That's just it. I don't know. It's about Nico, though."

"About Nico?" I could hear my voice rise and octave with incredulousness.

"Yes, Nico. See, I spend a lot of my time sleeping, and I can basically channel dreams to or away from people. My siblings and I try to block as many demigod dreams and nightmares in general from people in camp." I nodded; I had noticed that a lot of the campers had seemed to be sleeping more peacefully usually.

"What does this have to do with Nico?"

"Lately, Nico's been having some really terrible nightmares. Normally, I can get a glimpse of even his dreams, but since the war, I can't. Every time I try to see even a little bit of them it's like he throws up a wall of… I don't know. It's almost a wave of pure, highly concentrated… terror, almost. I've never felt anything like it." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, which turned out to be a bad idea. Since he never brushed his hair, his fingers instantly got caught in it. He spent a good two or three minutes extracting his fingers from his hair, swearing quietly but fluently in ancient Greek the entire time.

Meanwhile, my mind was cluttered with questions. This was _Nico_ we were discussing? Why had Clovis looked into it? What was scaring Nico so badly? And, most confusingly, why was Clovis telling this to _me_ , of all people?

When Clovis managed to extract his hands from his hair, he sighed. "Look, I think that part of the reason that I can't get through to Nico is that I'm not close enough to him, that he doesn't trust me enough. You, though… he trusts you. I could send you through to his dreams, if you'd be willing to try. I'm worried about him. Dreams can have a powerful effect on one's mind, and if his nightmares are that bad… there's no telling what could happen. So, would you try, Will?" He was dead serious, and his eyes were set determinedly on me.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll see what I can do."

He smiled in relief. "Alright. Thanks, Will. I owe you one."

Before I could respond, he pressed his palm to my forehead and darkness rushed up to greet me.

The only thing I could feel was fear. It wasn't the everyday, _'Oh, crap, this monster is about to eat me,'_ fear, either. It was the kind that froze your blood in your veins and the air in your lungs, the kind that made you forget everything but the fact that the panic was there and that it had no plans to leave any time soon.

As abruptly as it was there, it was gone. I hit the ground—or what passed for it in the dreamscape—and clutched at my chest, gasping raggedly. If that was what Nico went through every night… no wonder he woke up screaming. I couldn't even start to imagine what it would be like. Regaining my composure, I stood up and looked around. Everything was pitch black, except for the area in front of me where there was a rectangle of light, almost like a TV screen. I instinctively knew that I could only watch, not interfere in any way. Right now, it showed an ugly old woman blisters all over her leathery skin, blood and tears dripping onto a shield that looked like Heracles'. Nico stood in front of her, a look of resigned terror on his face.

Through her tears, the woman cackled. "Child of the Underworld! You honestly thought that I couldn't do anything more to you? Such a naïve fool. There's always something more when it comes to Misery."

A man with pale skin, white angel's wings, harsh red eyes, and a face so handsome it was cruel stepped up behind her. In his hands, a masterfully crafted and deadly-looking bow and arrow appeared, the razor sharp tip of the arrow aimed directly at Nico's heart.

"First the sea, and now the sun? You certainly have a way of wishing to tame the untamable, spawn of Hades. I'll give you that." He let the arrow fly. It struck home, piercing Nico's chest, and promptly disappeared. Nico stumbled back, clutching his heart, and the scene dissolved.

Red-hot flames sprung up around Nico, who now had his back to my view. In the distance, I could hear agonized screams. Nico bowed his head and clenched his fists; he obviously recognized the place—and the dream. Out of the fire to his right stepped a man with a mop of brown hair and pond-scum-green eyes, his body flickering between a ghostly afterimage and solid, living flesh. In front of Nico came Octavian, who Nico had let die to end the war with Gaea, half of his body encased in molten Imperial Gold. And, to Nico's left… I couldn't keep from recoiling in shock. The third figure to appear was Leo Valdez, bits of his body melted and the rest of his black and charred. The three men were all grinning grotesquely, ghastly in the light of the flames. The approached Nico, who stumbled back, tripped, and fell, leaving him cowering and trembling in front of the three other boys.

 _"You killed us, Nico di Angelo. And, as you did, we will kill you."_

The flames rose and swallowed all four figures. I could hear Nico screaming, the sound full of raw pain and terror and guilt.

It was black again; Nico was curled in the center of my vision. Out of the darkness stepped two figures, glowing silvery blue: a girl and a woman. The girl wore the outfit of the Hunters of Artemis; and the woman was in a dress that looked like it was from the 1930's. They both looked so much like Nico—pale olive skin, black hair, and those gorgeous brown eyes—that I knew they had to be his mother and sister: Maria and Bianca di Angelo. And yet, he didn't look pleased to see them. He stood up and stepped backwards, guilt, fear, and tension radiating from every line of him. The women hardly looked too happy, either; they looked almost… disappointed, and Nico seemed to see it, too.

"Unnatural creature. What have you done to my son?" Maria di Angelo spat, then turned away and began to fade. "Because you are no son of mine,"

Every word seemed to pierce Nico like a dull knife. He turned pleadingly to his sister, but she only watched him with a mixture of sadness and disgust.

"I don't know you. My little brother died with me, so you can't be him. Besides, he'd never entertain such revolting ideals. Not Nico." With that, Bianca turned away as well, also disappearing.

Nico dropped to his knees, his entire body shuddering with heart-wrenching sobs. I bit my lower lip, surprised to taste the saltiness of my own tears. I had had no idea that Nico was so afraid of these things, that he had so many ghosts that haunted him and caused him so much pain. It was hard, being a bystander and having to watch as Nico's own mind tore him apart from the inside out.

Then he disappeared. A second later, everything went black.

My eyes flew open and the first thing I did was hug Nico tightly. Dimly, I realized that Clovis had left, but I didn't care. All I cared about was Nico: Nico, who was shaking; Nico, leaning against me; Nico, crying into my shoulder. Nico, who was more broken and scared than anyone could ever have imagined.

I held him close as he wept, rubbing soothing circles on his back. I felt his arms wrap around my torso and blushed, but I didn't move. I was determined to keep him from losing himself in his hell. I would make sure he trusted me, no matter what.

It took him longer to calm down than it had last time; I figured that his nightmares had been worse than usual. After a couple of minutes, his trembling stopped and he withdrew himself.

"Alright, Solace, I'm fine. Let go." As confident as he tried to be, I could hear the lingering fear and grief in his shaking voice.

I shook my head and tightened my hold on him. "I'm not letting go. I'm not leaving you. Not now, not ever. I'll always be here, Nico."

I could feel him tense in shock, trying to push away from me. "I don't know what you mean. There's nothing wrong with me. Now let _go._ "

I resolutely kept him close, resting my head lightly on his thin shoulder, speaking softly and soothingly. "I saw your nightmares, Nico, and I wish you would have trusted me enough to tell me about them. But I know now, what you're afraid of… why you keep pushing everyone away."

He had started shaking again, and I could feel his heart rate speed up. "No, you don't. You can't."

The fear in his voice made my heart break. _He's afraid of me._ I realized. _He's afraid I'm going to hurt him or judge him or get mad. He's afraid I'm going to abandon him, like everyone else._

"Nico, I won't hurt you. I'm not going to abandon you, I'm not going to add to your list of nightmares. I want to help you. Trust me, Nico."

Tears pooled in his eyes as he clenched them shut and shook his head. "Stop. Stop lying to me. I'm not an idiot. Don't say something you'll regret. Don't make me promises you won't keep. Just don't. Not you, too."

Something clicked in my head. I remembered how Nico had made doe eyes at Percy Jackson the first time I had seen them, and how the next time I had seen him he had been so cold and withdrawn, especially toward the son of Poseidon. I remembered the words of the man that had shot Nico in his dream: _First the sea, now the sun?_

The sea… Poseidon… Percy. The sun… Apollo… _Me?_

I made a split second decision, throwing all thoughts of consequences to the wind. I tilted his head up and pressed my lips to his in a gentle kiss. Every muscle in his body went rigid, and my reasoning came back all at once. I pulled away, my cheeks burning. In the darkness, the tears drying on Nico's face were silver and his wide eyes were nearly black. I looked away, not wanting to see what he thought of me.

"I—I'm sorry! I didn't think. It didn't mean—" My stammered apology was cut off when I felt Nico loop his arms around my neck.

I looked down at him in shock and saw a small smile playing around his lips. "You idiot. Shut up and kiss me, Solace."

His words were barely louder than a whisper and made no sense, but my stomach started doing flips. Instead of trying to reason out what the _hell_ was going on, I did as he said and kissed him again. I was so caught up in the fact that I was _kissing Nico_ that I didn't realize that there was someone else in the room until I heard a pair of loud, very feminine squeals.

Nico and I sprung apart, both of us blushing scarlet. Lou Ellen and Kayla stood in the doorway, both grinning maniacally. Lou had her hands clapped over her mouth and looked like she was trying hard not to jump up and down, while Kayla just stood there and nodded at me approvingly.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you might want to see what just showed up by Thalia's tree. Just saying." Kayla winked and turned around, pulling a skipping Lou Ellen after her.

Nico groaned softly and buried his face in his hands, a mixture of embarrassment and fear flashing across his features. "Damn it,"

I smile softly and put a hand gently on his back between his shoulder blades. "They won't say anything. They might die of fangirl joy, but they'll keep it a secret unless we tell them otherwise. Don't worry about it."

He looked up at me and smiled slightly. "Thanks, Solace. We should probably go see what they were talking about."

My concern for him came back as he moved to stand up. "Are you sure you can walk?"

He snorted, although I could tell there was no malice behind the noise. "If I'm able to kiss you, I think I can manage walking." He said it nonchalantly, but I could tell that he was blushing darker than I was.

I laughed and stood up, helping him do the same. He swayed for a few moments, then steadied. "See, Solace? I'm fine."

I chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Alright, alright. I get it."

He smiles slightly and I took his hand, pulling him gently toward the door. I felt him start to instinctively pull his hand away, then he stopped and curled his fingers around mine. I smiled slightly as I led him out of the infirmary. He moved closer, standing at my shoulder as his hand tightened around mine.

As soon as we got to the green, I knew something was wrong. There was a small knot of campers standing by Thalia's pine tree, all of them in various odd combinations of pajamas, regular clothing, and armor. Nico and I made our way up the hill, and he subtly edged closer to me. I realized that several of the half-bloods were giving us odd looks as we pushed through the crowd. I glared right back at them, squeezing his hand reassuringly as we made our way to the front of the mob.

I felt Nico freeze beside me; I was just as surprised. Percy and Annabeth were murmuring to a girl with black hair, pale olive skin, and dark eyes. They all turned as Nico and I approached, Percy and Annabeth looking relieved. As the girl turned to face us, Nico's hand clenched spasmodically around mine, and my guess was proved to be correct.

Standing in front of us was an older, very much alive Bianca di Angelo.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Nico's POV

I couldn't do anything but stare. Shock and disbelief froze my nerves, paralyzing me. Only one thought coursed through my mind, repeating over and over: _This can't be real, she's dead; I saw her ghost._

But it was real. Bianca, who had died in the desert years ago, was standing in front of me. She looked about sixteen, which was how old she would have been if she hadn't died. Physically, she was the same: olive skin, dark hair, darker eyes, just like me. And she was _alive._ She was somehow, inexplicably, _alive._ I had hated Percy Jackson for getting her killed. I had become someone I never wanted to be because she died. But now, with her standing right in front of me, I didn't know how to react.

Luckily, I didn't have to, because Bianca reacted for me. After a split second of us staring at each other, she flung herself forward at me. Before I knew what was happening, she was hugging me, crushing me against her body. Her embrace was familiar and, despite having taught myself to hate physical contact, comforting. For the first time since she had left—I couldn't say she died anymore, since she apparently hadn't—I hugged her back. Suddenly, in the welcoming safety and warmth of Bianca's arms, I felt tears burning at the back of my eyes. Her smell of freshly baked pastries and cinnamon—or, to me, my childhood in Italy—made me feel like a scared ten-year-old again. I wanted to just let go of all the unshed tears that had gathered over the past four years: tears of fear, tears of pain, tears of grief. Tears over Bianca's death; tears over my naïve decision to help Minos; tears over Percy's inevitable straightness; tears of frustration from being trapped in that bronze jar. Tears of heartbreak over Will being straight; tears of joy when I found out he wasn't. Somehow, Bianca made me want to let it all go.

"Nico. Nico, _il mio bellissimo angelo._ I'm back. I'm back."

And the words Bianca whispered in my ear, I pressed my face into her shoulder to try to hide the tears that slipped down my cheeks. _Il mio bellissimo angeli_ was what our mother used to call us, as a pet name and a play on our surname.

We clung to each other for a few seconds before I—and, apparently, her—remembered that there were people watching. We pulled apart, and I blinked rapidly to try to clear my vision, which was still a bit blurry from leftover tears. I felt Will step up behind me, and I allowed myself the smallest of smiles. As I looked around, I realized that only a few people were left: Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Will.

Now that Bianca had gotten a good look at me, she reentered overprotective mom mode. "Nico! You're so pale, and so thin. Are you eating enough? Are you getting outside enough?"

At her fussing, I couldn't help but laugh. It was almost the same as before everything happened. Then I paused. How long had it been since I laughed like that? I couldn't remember. The thought made me a bit sad.

"I'm fine, _cara sorella._ I'm fine." The Italian slipped out before I realized what I was saying. It was almost scary, how quickly I fell back into old habits.

Looking awkward, Percy cleared his throat. Bianca rested a gentle hand on my shoulder and turned to face the small knot of people. Percy and Annabeth looked happy, if a little confused. I almost felt sorry for Jason and Piper, though; they were obviously more than a little confused. Will, on the other hand, was practically radiating happiness, and I realized that he was so happy _for me._ That thought made my chest feel warm.

"Percy, Annabeth. I'm glad to see you again."

Annabeth smiled and nodded. "We're glad to see you , too,"

Jason coughed awkwardly, but Piper dragged him away by the arm before he could say a word. Bianca turned to me, confused. "Who was that?"

I smiled slightly, allowing myself to relax a bit. I felt like I was going to explode with joy; this was the best day I'd had in a long time. Of course, I knew that that probably meant that something was about to happen that would negate the happiness and then some, but I tried not to think too hard about that.

"That was Jason Grace and Piper McLean. Jason is a son of Jupiter and Piper is a daughter of Aphrodite." She nodded, as if the existence of Roman demigods was no surprise to her. Then again, knowing my dad, it probably wasn't.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt, but how is this possible? I saw your ghost, Bianca. How are you, you know… alive?"

She laughed softly, the sound warm and familiar. "Oh, right," She turned to me and grinned, ruffling my hair like she used to. "Dad says happy birthday."

 _Happy birthday?_ My birthday wasn't for almost two months. How could it be a birthday present? Will turned toward me, opening his mouth indignantly—probably to ask me why I didn't tell him about my birthday—but Bianca cut him off.

"He said to tell you that, because apparently returning me from the dead was his early birthday present to you,"

"But I thought that you made it to Elysium," I said quickly, before Will could interject. I really didn't want to have that conversation in front of Percy and Annabeth.

Bianca nodded. "Yeah, I did. I was waiting for a chance at rebirth, but then dad brought me to his palace in the Underworld, gave me back my memories, and sent me back to the world of the living like I am now. Apparently Thanatos was pretty pissed, though."

I smirked at her use of the modern slang. Obviously dad had given her a bit more knowledge of the modern world. I made a mental note to scrape a bit more of my dinner into the fire next time I got the chance.

Percy smiled and took Annabeth's hand. "That's great, Bianca. We'll leave you with Nico now."

As they set off down the hill, I realized with a shock that it was just Will, Bianca and I left. Nervousness flooded my veins; Will didn't know that Bianca didn't know I wasn't straight. I hoped he wouldn't say anything… I didn't know what her views were on that particular subject anymore.

"When _is_ Nico's birthday, exactly?" Will asked, finding the chance to interject himself into the conversation, giving me a meaningful glare while he was at it.

Bianca turned to him, smiling pleasantly. "January 28. Didn't he tell you?"

He shook his head. "No. Which he should have, since I'm his _boyfriend."_

I could feel my face go bright red at the use of the word 'boyfriend.' _Shit, did he really just say that in front of my sister?_

Before he could do anymore damage, I quickly stepped between them, smiling nervously. "Ah, um, what he meant to say is _best_ friend." I forced a laugh, but even to myself it sounded strangled.

Bianca sighed a little and smiled indulgently at me. "Nico, saying you're not gay is like saying the universe is a frog and we're in its eye. It's alright if you're dating Will."

That brought me up short. How had she figured it out? "What?"

"You heard me,"

"You knew I was…"

She laughed and ruffled my hair, but there was nothing mocking about it. Just her usual, sisterly love. "Nico, I've known since before I died. I'm fine with it."

As I slowly realized what she was saying, I felt myself smile widely. With nothing but the few sentences Bianca had spoken, I knew that she—and my mother—would never show up in my nightmares again.

"On the other hand…" Bianca turned back to Will and her eyes narrowed slightly. "To be fair, I'm going to give you a warning. Break Nico's heart—or hurt him in any way, for that matter—and I'll kill you. Understood?"

The color visibly drained from Will's face as he nodded. I moved back to stand next to me, playfully crossing my arms and facing Bianca. "Hey, now. Try not to scare him too much. I don't want him passing out accidentally."

Will glared and nudged me playfully with his shoulder, taking my hand to steady me. I blushed slightly but didn't pull away, twining my fingers with his. "Says the kid who spent three-plus days unconscious with gaping wounds all across his chest."

Bianca whirled on me, narrowing her eyes angrily. "How did that happen, exactly? What the _hell_ have you been doing?"

I smiled nervously and took an involuntary step backward. I had forgotten how terrifying she could be when she thought I was hurt. "I'm fine, Bianca. Really. Will is a good doctor, so I'm fine now."

She made a noncommittal grunting noise and glared briefly at Will before nodding reluctantly. "Alright, if you say so,"

I could tell that she was going to press me—and, probably, Will—for details later, but I was glad she had dropped the subject, at least for the moment.

I felt Will's hand tighten ever so slightly around mine as je sent one of those sunny smiles that made my heart flutter strangely at Bianca. "I'm glad you seem as sensible as your brother."

She smiled back, but I could practically feel the air crackling with tension as their gazes locked. I had to resist the urge to shadow-travel away and hide in some dark corner of my dad's palace, but this was a situation I couldn't run away from. Bianca and Will were the two people I needed most in my life, so I was determined to make them get along well enough to fight over me like I knew they probably would.

"So… we should probably get back to camp. Chiron might want to know that you came back from the dead." I tried for lightness, but it was forced.

Luckily, they both picked up on my attempt and the tension in the air slowly dissipated. They laughed and we all turned away from Thalia's tree. I walked back to camp between the only two people I knew I could always trust, no matter what.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Will's POV

At about midnight, I snuck out of my cabin and climbed out onto the roof. The cleaning harpies never bothered me when I was up here for some reason, though I wasn't complaining. It gave me a perfect view and, at this time of year, I could just count the stars and trace constellations. It was peaceful, too, a refreshing break from my hectic, every day demigod life. I could just sit there and think.

And I definitely needed to think. I sighed as I laid down and looked up at the stars. I couldn't help being a bit jealous of Bianca di Angelo, despite the fact that she scared the living hell out of me. It felt like some sort of cruel joke. As soon as I was able to admit my feelings—in the most ungraceful, stupid way every, mind you—and have them returned, albeit hesitantly, his long-dead sister shows up as some "birthday present" from Hades. Don't get me wrong; I was overjoyed to see Nico so happy. The light, almost innocent laugh that Nico had given earlier still rang in my ears like some angelic bell to keep me sane.

Even so… I was afraid that Nico was going to start distancing himself from me because of Bianca. After all, he had no reason to trust me, after all the times he'd been hurt and betrayed.

 _After all, you did watch his dreams without permission and then kiss him pretty much as soon as he woke up._ Whispered a tiny, cruel voice in my head.

I felt sick to my stomach. As much as I hated it, that little bastard of a voice had a point. I hadn't given him a reason to trust me in the first place.

I heard soft footsteps behind me, which was surprising; I hadn't thought anyone else knew how to get up here. I sat up and turned around to see Nico standing there, looking a bit awkward. _Speak of the devil._

"Mind if I join you?" his voice was soft, almost hesitant.

I pushed my doubts and worries to the back of my mind, nodding and patting the roof next to me. He sat down tentatively, pulling his knees to his chest and hugging them. Like that, staring at the horizon without really looking at it, he looked so sad, so small, that I wanted to hold him close and protect him from the world.

"I'm sorry, Will," his apology took me by surprise.

"What do you have to apologize for? You haven't done anything wrong."

He shook his head and sighed. "There's so much for me to be sorry for. I didn't trust you when I should have. I should have told you about my nightmares, but I didn't, and then you got so worried you looked for yourself. I know you wouldn't do something like that unless you were really, really concerned. I'm sorry. I never meant for it to come to that."

I gaped at him for a few moments as I tried to find words. _He thinks it's his fault?_

I shook my head, bewildered. "What are you saying? That wasn't your fault at all. I was the one who watched your dreams without permission when you hadn't wanted for me to know. I should be the one apologizing, not you."

He looked as confused as I felt. "What do you mean? I'm not complaining or upset that you did what you did. I'm grateful, actually. I'm just sorry that it got to the point where you had to force yourself on me to get me to trust you. I just… I guess I was just scared of what you'd do if you found out." His voice quieted and broke on the last sentence, like it was hard for him to admit to being afraid. Which, I guess it would be. He was so used to keeping of the façade of being the cold, apathetic one that admitting fear would be like telling someone he was weak.

On instinct, I reached over and set my hand on his back between his shoulder blades. It was a bit worrying; the nubs of his spine were sharp beneath my hand despite the fact that his shirt was between his skin and mine. He stiffened slightly at the gentle touch, then slowly relaxed. I couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since anyone had bothered comforting him, or how long it had been since he let someone do so, for that matter. He had always tried to avoid physical contact. Maybe it was because he was afraid that if someone touched him gently, his shell would begin to crack and he'd admit to whatever weakness he thought he had.

He sighed softly through his nose and scooted a bit closer to me, resting his head against my shoulder. He seemed exhausted, but I knew it wasn't physical exhaustion. He was tired of all the pain and fear and hatred and grief that he had had to endure. I couldn't even to begin to understand the amount of hell he'd been through, but I could try to keep his issues from multiplying. I could try to help him from sinking back into the blackness he had spent the last several years in.

I turned slightly, so I was facing him, and laid down on the roof, pulling him down with me so that his head landed on my chest. He made an indistinct noise of surprised but he didn't pull away, even when my arms went around him. He didn't move, and that was when I realized what had just happened. We were _laying down,_ with him practically _on top of me,_ curled up against my side. I could feel my face heating up in the darkness, but I didn't move. I needed to let him know he was safe with me. That I wouldn't give him up, no matter what.

"You can trust me, you know," my voice was soft, gentle, like I was trying to soothe a frightened animal.

He nodded, but I continued. "You don't have to be sorry for anything. It was my fault for invading your privacy. You said you didn't want to tell me. I should have respected that. I'm sorry."

He shook his head and moved one of his hands to rest over mine. I turned my hand over to lace my fingers with his, and I felt him squeeze softly.

 _"Non é colpa tua,"_ he whispered, his voice soft and melodic as he spoke in Italian.

"What does that mean?" I asked, my voice just as soft but nowhere near as musical. Unfortunately, I didn't speak Italian. Kayla did, though. Maybe I'd ask her to give me a lesson or two.

"It's not your fault,"

"But—"

 _"Non é colpa tua. Non sentitevi in colpa. Per favore."_ He smiled softly as I opened my mouth to ask—again—what he was saying, and replied to my unasked question. "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. Please."

I sighed softly. I knew Nico could be stubborn, and he obviously didn't see things the way I did. But, somehow, his reassurances got rid of most of my anxiety and doubt.

"Alright. Thank you, Nico." He seemed surprised by my gratitude. I wondered how long it had been since he'd had reason to believe someone when they thanked him.

I gently carded my fingers through his hair, enjoying the feeling of his soft curls. He sighed softly and looked up, his dark eyes reflecting the silver light of the stars.

"It's beautiful up here," he breathed, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I like it a lot up here."

It was silent for a few moments before he spoke abruptly again. "Can you show me the constellations?"

I smiled softly and nodded. "Only if you teach me Italian,"

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. We spent the next several hours like that, me tracing the constellations for him as they began to slowly fade into the dawn.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Nico's POV

I closed the door of the Hades cabin and couldn't keep a huge grin off my face. The time I had spent on the roof had been amazing, even peaceful. I could only think of a few moments that had been better than those, and all of them were from my childhood in Italy.

I walked over to my bunk―I had gotten them remodeled so I wasn't sleeping in a coffin anymore―and flopped down on my stomach, hugging a pillow. I could still feel Will's warmth, hear his soft voice as he took my hand and traced constellations with my fingers: Orion, Ursas Major and Minor, Hercules, the one he called the Hunter that I recognized as the one Artemis had made out of Zoë Nightshade. We had spent hours like that, just watching the sky and reveling in each other's presence. It was very much what I had wanted for a very long time. His touch sent electric currents up and down my spine, in the most wonderful ways possible. Unlike others, the feeling of his gentle fingers on my shoulder made me want to lean into him, just let him hold me. I hadn't wanted that since Bianca had died.

I rolled over on my side and looked across the room, still smiling and hugging the pillow to my chest as I faced Bianca's sleeping form. That day had been full of miracles, and it made me happier than I had been in a long time. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen, but I decided not to let it get to me and just enjoy the moment. Bianca was alive, Will was mine. I had friends. I had family. Everything was going to be fine.

I fell asleep like that, curled around the pillow with a slight smile still on my lips. For once, I didn't have any nightmares.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Nico's POV

Two weeks later, I couldn't sleep. Hazel, Frank, and Reyna were coming to visit Camp Half-Blood the next day, and I was oddly stressed. I knew why—a lot had happened, with Bianca being alive again and everything with Will in general. I just didn't understand why I was face to face. Maybe I was worried about how Will was going to act around them. I didn't know. I knew that I hated the feeling that there was something sitting on my chest. But… there was something else. At the same time as I was anxious and stressed—my biggest worry, I realized, being Hazel's reaction to Bianca and vice versa—I was _excited._

 _Well, whatever. Just go to sleep._ I thought. I rolled over and looked at the digital clock sitting on the table next to my bed, sighing and burying my face in my pillow. It was already five in the morning; the Roman demigods were being driven into camp by Argus at about six. Only about an hour left to have any chance at sleep.

I heard Bianca's bunk creak softly and sighed again. Bianca had always been and early riser and—unfortunately—she usually brought me with her. That morning was no exception as she got up and walked over to my bunk, shaking me gently by the shoulder. It wasn't like I was awake or anything.

"Nico, come on. Let's get up."

I groaned and rolled over onto my back, keeping the pillow pressed to my face. I wasn't a morning person even if I hadn't slept. "Don't want to,"

She poked me in the side, making me twitch away, but I just groaned again. "It's too early to be human, Bianca,"

Before she could respond, someone knocked on the door. She went to answer it, while I just curled into the blankets and rolled back onto my stomach. I really just wanted to _sleep._

Voices murmured briefly before Bianca walked back in, the other person leaving as she shut the door. No, wait. Those footsteps were too heavy to be my sister's, so who…?

A warm hand rested gently on my back and breath that smelled like spring brushed across my ear. "Morning, babe,"

I jumped, rolling onto my side as I felt a blush spread across my cheeks. Will grinned, looking very much awake and too perfect for that early in the morning. It was almost annoying, how amazing he looked when it was too early for me to even really function properly.

"Will! What the _hell_ are you doing?" My voice was an octave or two higher than normal, and I was thanking the gods that I slept in my clothes.

"Waking you up. Your sister said you didn't want to."

"That's because I _don't!_ It's _five in the morning,_ Solace. Being functional is not possible at this hour." I grumbled, sighing as he laughed. It was too early for him to be that damned _cheerful._

"Not a morning person, Death Boy?" I glared halfheartedly at him, standing up reluctantly.

"Not really, no. Let me guess: you and _all_ of your siblings are morning people?"

He nodded and I sighed again. Of course the sons and daughters of Apollo were early risers. _Damn that sun god for having annoyingly attractive children and never teaching them how to sleep the hell in._

"Fine, I'll get up. I'm not going to get any sleep now, anyway. Now get out, so I can change."

He smiled slyly, making my heart flutter awkwardly. "Why do I have to leave?"

The implication made my face burn and I threw a pillow at him. He laughed and batted it aside. "Get out! Get out, Solace, or so help me I will summon an army of fucking zombies and force you out!"

Still laughing, he put up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Just don't throw anything else at me."

I threw another pillow at him as he left, hitting him square in the back of the head.

Argus' van pulled into camp at exactly six o'clock. A handful of Roman demigods piled out, including Reyna, Hazel, Frank, and Dakota. Dakota instantly went to join Connor and Travis Stoll, while Frank when to greet Jason and Chiron. Reyna and Hazel made a beeline straight for me, Bianca, and Will.

"Who's this, Nico?" I had to give Reyna credit for being blunt and to the point. Aurum and Argentum, her metal dogs, snarled softly, and her hand subtly moved to her sword.

I quickly stepped forward, raising my hands placatingly. "This is my sister, Bianca. My father brought her back from the dead as what he called an "early birthday present."" I sighed at the last part, and the corners of Reyna's mouth twitched upwards into a soft smile.

"Oh, really? That's amazing, Nico." Hazel said.

"Would you mind introducing them, Nico?" Bianca's voice held the tone that our mother used to use to implicate _'or else.'_

"Um… yeah, sure. Bianca, this is Reyna, the daughter of Bellona, and this is our half-sister Hazel, daughter of Pluto."

They all smiled and nodded at each other, but I could feel the tension crackling between Hazel and Bianca. They were both very protective of me, to the point of possessiveness, and U was afraid of the cat fight that I knew was inevitable between my sisters.

I wish I had known that the feeling of apprehension went much deeper than that.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Nico's POV

Later that night, Chiron set up a game of capture-the-flag to welcome the Romans. Since there were only a few of the other demigods, the Athena, Hades, Apollo, Poseidon, and Iris, and Hecate cabins were put on their team. Honestly, they probably didn't need the help—Reyna alone could most likely beat the entire camp—but I was glad I was on their side. I didn't want to fight any Roman demigods anytime soon.

When the conch shell horn shell blew, we took off running. Percy and Hazel went one direction, Bianca went alone, and Will and I went off a different way as we all split up to look for the flag.

I was very aware of how close to my side Will was, but I drew my sword and tried to focus on the game instead of my way-too-hot-for-my-own-good boyfriend.

 _Boyfriend._ My heart stuttered a bit at the words. Was that really what we were? It was complicated, to say the least. To me, Will was… pretty much everything. He had caught me when I had been falling into a living hell. I had been losing myself, shattering in slow motion, but he had taken the time and effort to piece me back together. He had taught me to open up and be myself again.

But did he really want to be in that kind of relationship with me? I knew I was messed up. I knew I had problems. I knew I could be horribly insensitive, and that I was really dense when it came to certain things. Would he really want someone like me? Someone who couldn't hold themselves together after a nightmare? Someone who woke up screaming in the middle of every night?

I shook my head and tightened my grip on my sword. _Focus, Nico._

My so-called focus didn't last long. Suddenly, a piercing scream tore through the air, one that I recognized. My heart rose into my throat and I bolted in the direction it had come from, ignoring Will's panicked shouts from behind me. All I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears, and there was only one name on my mind.

 _Bianca._

I tore through the foliage, not caring the branches that were whipping across my face and arms so hard that they drew blood. I needed to get to my sister.

Luckily, the scream hadn't come from far off. To me, though, every moment I spent running was and eternity. When I did finally burst into the clearing, which I vaguely recognized as where the entrance to Daedalus' Labyrinth had once been, the first thing I registered was the sudden feeling that someone was going to die; that someone was beyond saving. My second realization was that there were only two other people there, one kneeling over the prone form of the other. It took me another second or so to identify them, but my knees almost gave out when I did.

The one lying on the ground, her hair spread out and a dark stain marring the grass beneath her, was Bianca. And kneeling next to her, looking pale and panicked, was none other than Percy Jackson. I rushed over and dropped to my knees on Bianca's other side, gripping her hand and looking up at him desperately.

"What happened?" I hated how shaky and scared I sounded, but I was remembering the first time Percy and I had faced each other like that, when I was so much younger. I felt like that scared little kid again, and I didn't like it.

He looked up at me, the guilt and fear in his expression scaring me. Percy had always been so strong, so untouchable, and that was part of why I had fallen for him in the first place. But right then, he just looked… broken.

"Nico, I—I swear, it was an accident, I—" he stumbled over his words, and my eyes widened over what he was trying to say.

 _It was an accident._ His words rang in my ears as I dropped my gaze to the ground beside him. There, among the dead leaves, was Riptide, its Celestial Bronze blade stained dark with that I instinctively knew was Bianca's blood.

I looked back up, rage building in my chest as tears sprang to my eyes. "You—"

I was cut off by the feeling of a hand on my cheek. I looked down and met my sister's eyes, trying to remember how to breathe properly. It was like my world was falling apart, shattering around me.

"Don't blame him, Nico. It wasn't his fault. I was too quiet as I came up behind him, then accidentally scared him, and… he did it by accident." Her voice was soft, shaking, and hoarse, and I could feel her life force bleeding away by the second.

Dimly, I could hear Percy apologizing repeatedly and someone else—probably Will—murmuring softly to me. But all I could focus on was Bianca—Bianca, who's breath was shaky and shallow. Bianca, who was dying for a second time.

I couldn't decide if it was better or worse to have her fading away in my arms.

I lifted her head onto my lap, gently stroking her hair like she used to do for me to calm me down from a nightmare. I could feel the tears dripping down my face, but I couldn't run away. I had to do what I hadn't been able to do the first time. I had to say goodbye.

He hand stroked my cheek gently and she gave me a shaky smile. _"Va tottu biene, Nico. Ti amo, mi piccolo angelo."_

My tears fell faster as I heard the words she whispered in Italian, tightening my grip on the hand that wasn't on my cheek. I knew she was nearly gone.

 _"Addio, sorella. Ti amo."_ I whispered in gentle Italian, even though I was still sobbing quietly.

At least she was smiling as the last of the light from her eyes faded away.

I let go of her hand, gently laying it on her chest before closing her eyes. She looked deceitfully peaceful, almost like she was asleep.

Slowly, a new emotion surfaced, masking my grief: rage. Rage at Thanatos, for taking her back again. Rage at Hades, for giving her back to me only to let her be snatched away, like her life was a toy or some sort of cruel game. Rage at Percy Jackson, for sending my sister to the Underworld not once, but twice. There was only one of them I could take my anger out on at the moment.

Percy was still apologizing over and over, but I cut him off with a sharp glare. My voice was steady, albeit quiet, when I spoke again, even though my tears hadn't stopped.

"Twice. That's the second time you've taken my sister from me. Twice. This is the second time you've killed her." I was ashamed of the burst of satisfaction from seeing his shocked, guilty expression.

I shuddered slightly, resisting the urge to lean forward and get in his face. The anger building in my chest was starting to seem like it was suffocating me. It physically _hurt_ to refrain from screaming at him, but the scared look on his face held me back. Instead of giving in to my rage, I turned back to Bianca's limp form, cradling her in my arms. I called the shadows to me, feeling warm arms wrap tightly around me as I melted into the darkness, letting it carry me far, far away from the place I had come to think of as home.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Will's POV

The first thing that I noticed about shadow travel was that it was _cold._ I could feel my arms still wrapped around Nico, and I was still locked in the same sitting position I had been in when he had taken us away, but it was pitch black ad there was nothing beneath me, and it was almost the same temperature as the arctic circle probably was.

Luckily, it was brief. We tumbled to the ground, Nico never once letting go of his sister's limp corpse. We landed on a field of green grass, and it looked like there was no one and nothing else around for miles. We were on the shore of a crystalline blue lake, and to our right a few feet was a small but comfortable-looking cabin.

I sat up, instantly spotting Nico. He was shaking, trembling violently as he clutched Bianca's body close. I couldn't even begin to imagine what sort of pain he was going through; this was the second time he had lost the sibling closest to his heart. Sure, he had Hazel as a sister now, but Bianca had been the one to take care of him since their mom died. Bianca was the one who'd lived with him in the Lotus Hotel, Bianca was the one who'd endured that boarding school that Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover had taken them from. There was no way he'd ever be able to even consider letting someone take her place.

I stood up and moved over to Nico, promptly sitting back down and pulling him close. At that, he did let go of Bianca, instead turning to me and beginning to sob heavily into my chest. I couldn't speak through the lump in my throat, so I tightened my arms around him and let him cry. I knew that under any other circumstances, around anyone else, he'd keep a tight seal on his emotions and not even let one tear slip for fear of being seen as weak. I was glad that he trusted me so explicably, but at the same time I wanted to strangle Hades and Thanatos for hurting him so badly.

I don't know how long we spent like that, but by the time he cried himself to sleep in my arms the sun was beginning to set. I gently picked him up, cradling him to my chest. I hesitated for a moment, looking at Bianca's body, trying to decide what to do. Eventually I decided to leave her be until morning. I carried Nico to the house, cradling him with one arm as I knocked. As I did, the door swung open silently, which was a bit creepy, but not as creepy as it would have been if I showed up at someone's house with my unconscious boyfriend in my arms, asking for a place to stay without even knowing where we were. I brought him inside, looking around. It looked like the place hadn't been used in a while, but it was still in good condition. The only sight that it was practically abandoned was the thick layer of dust coating everything. Didn't even want to think about the stat of any food left from when the house was inhabited. On the other hand, there seemed to be electricity—I could hear the faint hum of what I thought was a refrigerator from the direction of what I assumed was the kitchen—but I couldn't find any light switched. I set Nico down on a couch to the right of the doorway and kissed his forehead lightly before falling asleep on the floor beside him.

I woke up before Nico, which wasn't that big of a surprise. I was a morning person, thanks to my dad, whereas Nico was not. That and he had been completely exhausted both physically and emotionally the night before. There was no way I was going to be so cruel as to wake him up. He needed the sleep and the sort-of relaxation it brought.

Instead, I decided to explore a bit. I sat up and stretched, yawning as I took in my surroundings in more detail. It was small but cozy. We seemed to be in the living room, which was floored with aged, off-white carpet and furnished with the couch Nico was sleeping on and an overstuffed armchair. The walls were a pale cream color, and overall there was a nice homey feel to the place. A wood fireplace was set into the wall across from the couch, the small shelf above it practically sagging with the weight of all the pictures set on top of it. I stood up and walked over, surprised when I saw the images.

Three faces were smiling back at me from most of the, sometimes only two; two children, a boy and a girl, and an older woman. They were obviously all related—tanned olive skin, black hair, and wide, warm brown eyes. There were a few differences, though. The boy and the woman had curly hair that surrounded their faces like a halo of frizz, whereas the little girl had a curtain of straight hair that fell to her shoulders. The boy's eyes were a little darker than the other two's—who I knew were his mom and sister—being more of a caramel brown than dark chocolate brown. They were all so happy, huge grins practically splitting their faces in half. I knew instantly who they were. I looked over my shoulder at Nico, then back at the photo.

 _He looks so different now._

I picked one up, wiping away the dust on the glass with my sleeve. It looked newer, since Nico and Bianca looked about ten. They were standing in front of the lake outside the house, Maria di Angelo's arms over her children's shoulders. Nico looked so happy, so carefree, that I couldn't help but hate Percy Jackson and the others who had made that gorgeous smile such a rare thing.

"That was about a week before Mom died,"

I turned around, the picture still in my hand. Nico was sitting up, his hands clenched in his lap. His voice was shaky and rough from crying so hard the night before. His eyes were red and puffy, and tear tracks stained his cheeks, but he was still the most beautiful person I had ever seen.

I set the picture down and moved over, sitting down next to him. He leaned into me, looking tired. Not physically tired, more like he was tired of all the pain and fear and grief he had been enduring since his mother was killed. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, gently rubbing his arm.

"Where are we, Nico?" I kept my voice soft and soothing and gentle, so he didn't feel trapped or start crying again. It hurt to see Nico cry.

"This is where Mom and Bianca and I lived before Dad hid us away in the Lotus Hotel," his words were quiet, his tone broken. His voice broke on his sister's name, like he was trying not to tear up again.

I pulled him closer, wrapping my other arm around him. He leaned into my chest, one hand clutching at the fabric of my orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. I didn't say anything, instead just being his silent, gentle comfort, like I knew he needed. It hurt to see him so hurt, so broken, but I swore I'd keep him safe.

"You looked so adorable in those pictures," I tried to lighten the mood, tried to make him have a reaction other that sadness. It worked, to a degree.

His cheeks took on a slightly pink tinge and the corners of his mouth twitched up ever so slightly, but that was as far as it got. Still, it was a reaction, and it was the beginnings of bringing Nico back to as close to normal as he could get. I knew I'd have to be patient, and that it would take time for him to get over Bianca's second death, I could work with a tiny smile and a tiny reaction. I could help, as long as there was a little bit I could build on.

"Why'd you bring us here?" he tensed a bit at the question, then shrugged.

"I don't know. I didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted to get away… I guess we ended up here since it was the last place I honestly felt safe." His voice was quiet, almost like it was hard for him to admit.

I figured it was probably painful for him to be there. After all, he had just watched his sister die for a second time, and that house held memories of not only Bianca but his mother, who was also dead.

I would just have to make sure memories of me were mixed with the ones that hurt him so much.

I decided to start making good in that resolution, so I gently turned his face toward mine, tilting it up. He looked confused for a moment, then smiled ever so slightly as I leaned down and gently kissed him. He leaned into it, a soft sigh of relief puffing through his lips. I pulled him close and he offered no resistance, letting me take the lead and trusting me completely.

I kissed him over and over again, not letting him go until he had practically melted in my arms. When I finally did pull away, I couldn't help but smile. His face was bright red, his eyes wide, and we were both gasping for air. His smile had grown, almost to the size that it had been in the picture.

"What was that for? I'm not complaining, but still. What was that for?" His voice was still soft, but this time with breathlessness and embarrassment.

"I don't like to see you sad, so I was trying to cheer you up. Did it work?"

He nodded shyly and I grinned. His smile faded and he looked down. He looked almost like he was ashamed of something.

"If that's how you're cheering me up from now on, you're going to be kissing me a lot,"

I chuckled and leaned forward, whispering softly in his ear. He shivered as my breath brushed across his skin, blushing darker at my words.

"I won't complain,"

Even though Nico was definitely dragging himself out of his despair, it took me two weeks to get him back to a semi-normal attitude. We had sunk Bianca's body in the lake, and I had sat with him on the shore for several hours afterwards.

About two and a half weeks after we left, I decided to finally bring up the possibility of going back to Camp Half-Blood. I didn't mind it there—Italy was beautiful, it was peaceful, and Nico seemed calmer and even happier than I'd seen him in a long time, maybe even ever—but I knew that our friends and family back home were probably worried. We _had_ been gone for almost three weeks after leaving with no warning and the only explanation being that Percy had killed Bianca.

I brought it up one morning after breakfast. Nico and I had bought food every day, just enough for all three meals, since we didn't know how long we were going to be staying. Luckily, Nico knew where the spare cash was—and how to cook. I couldn't make anything more complicated than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"When do you want to go back, Nico?" he blinked in surprise at my sudden question, then his expression darkened.

"I don't know. I… I don't know if I could handle being back there… If I could handle being around Percy again." His voice was soft, but I could hear the pain in it.

I reached across the table and squeezed his hand gently. "We don't have to until you're ready. And besides, I'll be with you to help you with anything you want."

He smiled and nodded, squeezing my hand back gratefully. His smile was a lot more common now. "Yeah, you're right. We'll go back… but at the end of the week, okay? I don't want to leave quite yet."

I nodded, "That's fine,"

True to his word, we did.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Will's POV

We left just before dawn, due to the six hour difference between New York and Italy. I pulled us into the shadows, Will's hand clasped tightly in mine. We rematerialized in a clearing in the woods that I knew by the lingering feeling of death was the one Bianca had taken her last breath in.

Will's had was still tight around mine. Focusing on that made it easier to forget what had happened there.

As if sensing my thoughts, Will squeezed my hand gently and he led me away from the clearing, toward general cacophony of Camp Half-Blood. I hadn't really noticed the noise before, but it was almost deafening after the peaceful silence of the Italian countryside.

When we walked across the green to the Big House, I could feel the stares. People paused to watch us walk by, their conversations stopping and then starting back up again in soft whispers as soon as we passed. I moved a little closer to Will, glad that he hadn't let go of my hand. The gazes were cold, and more unnerving than the sightless glares of the dead. The campers seemed… different. Some were curious, some were sympathetic, some just straight up hostile. It was disturbing.

I noticed a group of fashionista girls, probably daughters of Aphrodite, glaring daggers at Will and I—mostly me—but I didn't have time to contemplate it. A loud squeal had sounded from the front door of the Big House, and a heavy, very feminine weight was suddenly crushing me. I stumbled backwards, instinctively catching them, while trying to figure out who the _hell_ had thrown themselves at me. I couldn't feel a cape—and I doubted that she'd ever make that kind of noise in public, if at all—so I knew it wasn't Reyna. Thick hair was practically choking me, and the arms around my neck were slim. I could smell a very feminine _something,_ I didn't quite know what, and a faint, lingering smell of the Underworld. Hazel, then. That made sense.

"Hazel— Can't breathe—" I choked, and she quickly let go of me.

There were tears in her eyes as she half-glared, half-smiled at me, and they were already red. She must have been crying before. I immediately felt guilty; I never once thought of how upset and worried she and the rest of my friends might have been.

"Nico di Angelo, you _bastard!_ Where the _hell_ have you _been_ for the past three weeks? _Three weeks,_ Nico! You were gone for an entire three _weeks_ without even so much as an Iris message to let us know you were safe!" Her attempt at scolding me failed because of the huge, relieved grin on her face.

I returned the smile and nodded. "I know. Sorry, Hazel. I didn't mean to worry you."

She hugged me again, but I wasn't in danger of suffocating that time. "I know. Just don't do it again, okay?"

I chuckled and hugged her back before pulling away. "Alright,"

Reyna came up behind Hazel and also hugged me, but I was ready for it that time, so it wasn't as terrifying. She didn't say anything, but I could tell that she had been worried. Lou Ellen and Kayla had already pretty much attacked Will, and I could tell he was getting told off by the embarrassed expression on his face. Frank, Jason, Piper, and Cecil all came to welcome us back and get angry at us for leaving so abruptly, but I could tell they didn't mean it; they were all just relieved. The only people I didn't see were Percy and Annabeth.

"Where's Percy?" I asked, looking around.

The smiles immediately faded from everyone's faces. They exchanged one of those looks, like, _Oh, yeah, he doesn't know._ I immediately felt worried; had he felt so guilty that he had done something completely and totally irrational?

"Um…" Hazel sounded nervous and a bit afraid. "Well, he's in his cabin.

I raised my eyebrows; why did they all look so upset if he was just in his cabin?

"But… none of us have actually seen him since the night you left. He locked himself in his cabin, and the only person he lets in is Annabeth." She continued.

Guilt came crashing down on me, suffocating me with its weight. I knew what I had said just before leaving had been horrible, but at the time I had blamed him for Bianca's second death. I didn't now, and regretted the words. Still… I hadn't thought it would've affected him _that_ badly.

I felt a warm hand placed between my shoulder blades and looked up to see Will's understanding smile. He gave me a gentle push toward the cabins, whispering, "Go," in my ear.

I smiled gratefully and nodded at him, my hands lingering against his as I began to sprint across the green to the Poseidon cabin. I knew what I needed to do. I ran up to the building and knocked, bouncing anxiously on the balls of my feet. Annabeth opened the door and her eyes widened as she saw me.

"Nico?" I nodded and she held the door open wider to let me in.

I stepped into the cabin and saw Percy sit up in his bunk. He looked terrible—bleary-eyed and pale, like he hadn't been sleeping. Annabeth wasn't much better, now that I got a better look at her. Blonde hair had started to stray from her ponytail, and there were dark circles of sleeplessness beneath her eyes. I felt horrible; I had never meant to hurt either of them that badly.

"Nico? What are you doing? Why are you here?" Percy sounded stunned, like he couldn't believe I was real.

"I came to see you,"

He stood in front of me, looking somehow awkward and desperate at the same time. "Look, Nico, I— About Bianca, I-I'm sorry, I—"

I raised a hand to cut him off, sighing softly. No matter how mad I had been when I left, I had forgiven Percy. I knew it had been an accident, and I wasn't able to find any valid reason to hold the son of the sea god responsible anymore.

"Stop. I'm not mad anymore. I get that it was an accident. It's not your fault."

He looked shocked for a moment before a smile spread across his face. "Really? Thank you so much, Nico~"

Thankfully, he didn't try to hug me, but he looked almost excited enough to try. I nodded, leaving quickly. I didn't want to have any chance of him attacking me with grateful affection, no matter how platonic the situation was.

As I made my way across the green, back to where Will and my friends had been, I began to hear shouting. It sounded feminine, but then I heard the angry yells of a certain son of Apollo cut in. I started running flat out, worry for Will coursing through my veins.

When I pushed through the knot of campers that had gathered, I couldn't believe what I saw. Drew, the daughter of Aphrodite who was well known for being an absolute bitch, was smirking, a couple of her siblings standing anxiously behind her. Across from her in the circle of bodies that had formed was Will, looking absolutely enraged. Cecil, Lou Ellen, and Kayla, were all holding him back, but I could tell that he was to the point of wanting to lunge at Drew and rip her throat out. It was surprising. Will was usually so calm and gentle and generally harmless. He was a healer, not a fighter; I could tell it took a lot to get him so hell-bent on murder like he was.

"Take that _back!"_ Will shouted, straining against his friends' grips. I could see the muscles straining in his arms. He was stronger than he looked. All three of them had to dig their heels into the ground to keep him in place.

I walked up to Will, ignoring the snickers from Drew and the more reluctant ones from her friends. I gently placed my hands on Will's shoulders. The tension instantly bled out of him and he stopped struggling to get at Drew, visibly calming down.

"Nico…" he sounded almost apologetic, though still fairly angry.

"What's wrong, Will? What did she say?" I kept my voice as soft and gentle as he always was with me.

I heard her snort and he growled. I turned around to see Drew sneering nastily at me. "I just asked how many times you had to fuck him to get him to pretend to care."

I could feel the corner of my eye start to twitch. I didn't know how she had known Will and I were together, and I didn't really care—I knew word would've gotten out eventually—but I was tempted to make the ground swallow her and send her to my father the hard way. I didn't care that she was insulting me; I was used to the jibes and nasty looks. What pissed me off was that she was saying Will was so shallow as to be swayed by sex, that I had bribed him to date me.

Before I had a chance to say anything, though, a blinding glow started in the space between Drew and I. I instinctively shielded my eyes, blinking the light out of my vision. When the glow faded and I looked up, I was honestly surprised my jaw didn't hit the ground.

Two men stood where there hadn't been anyone before. One was tan, wearing shorts and a Hawaiian t-shirt, with blonde hair that shone like gold in the sunlight and piercing blue eyes. The other was pale but more muscular, wearing dark, heavy clothing and had black hair and eyes that were so dark and cold they could've been reflections of the River Lethe. I knew who they were and, by the collective gasp that ran through the crowd, so did everyone else.

"Lord Hades, Dad. What… Why are you here?" Will sounded shocked. I had to admit, having our godly parents show up out of nowhere was a surprise, to say the least.

Apollo scoffed slightly and put a hand on his hip, looking all too much like a certain one of his sons. "What, I can't come visit my son and his adorable boyfriend?"

I felt my face burning. It was definitely a new one, to be called 'adorable' by a Greek god who was older than dirt. Hades sighed and rolled his eyes, a very modern gesture for the god of the afterlife. "Please refrain from embarrassing my son, and remember why my brother allowed us to intervene."

Apollo snapped his fingers as if remembering something and turned to Drew. "That's right! You, daughter of Aphrodite. You're not being very nice, and Hades and I don't appreciate it."

My father sighed again, and I could tell that he was resisting the urge to do whatever was the godly equivalent of face palming at Apollo. "As childish as his wording is, I agree. You're being quite the—how do you put it these days—bitch."

I couldn't help but laugh at how awkward the modern insult sounded coming from my father. Still, Drew looked absolutely terrified, being told off by two gods.

"If you continue to treat my son—or _anybody_ , for that matter—like this, I will not be pleased. Do you understand, Drew Tanaka?" As Hades spoke, the temperature around him seemed to drop a few degrees. Drew shivered, but I couldn't tell if it was from the cold or out of fear.

She nodded quickly, and Hades grunted in approval. "Good,"

Thunder rumbled, and both gods looked up.

"Well, time for us to leave!" Apollo waved excitedly and Hades smiled slightly.

They began to glow again, and we all looked away. With a bright flash, they were gone.

There was silence for a few moments, then Drew walked away, trying to save what was left of her pride. Will turned to me and smiled, pulling me close. I didn't realize what he was doing until his lips were against mine and people were clapping and _holy gods Will was kissing me in public oh my god._

We broke apart and I could feel my face burning. It was embarrassing, but everyone was cheering and happy and I knew right then that I was home.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Epilogue: Nico's POV

It had been four years since Will and I had started dating openly. There had been a couple of bumps in the road, but we had stuck together and were still going strong.

That night, Will had invited me over to his apartment. As soon as I turned eighteen—Will had been nineteen at the time—we had moved into next door apartments in New Rome. I was a bit nervous; that night was my nineteenth birthday and I couldn't help but be curious as to what Will had planned.

When I knocked, Will opened the door immediately. He looked almost nervous, which was odd, because I had been over several times before. However, I decided not to comment as he led me inside after kissing me briefly on the cheek. I sat on the couch and looked around, absolutely amazed. The living room had been completely emptied, with the exception of the single couch. Candles floated in midair just above Will's head, probably the doing of one of Hecate's kids. The only light in the room came from the small flames, making Will's hair flicker between spun gold and gorgeous sunset orange. The effect was stunning.

"Will, what—?" I was cut off by his soft voice.

"Happy birthday, Nico,"

I smiled shyly. "Thanks, Will,"

He nodded, hesitating for a moment before lowering himself onto one knee. My breath hitched in my throat; was he really doing what I thought he was doing?

"Nico," he faltered, then started again. "Nico, I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do this. We've been together for almost five years now, and helped each other through hell. T took a while, and it might've been hard, but we did it. We made it this far, and I think we can make it longer… for forever." He pulled a small black box out from his pocket and held it out to me. When he opened it, a beautiful, elegant ring glittered in the candlelight.

"I know we might be a bit young, and I know it might be a bit soon, but… Nico di Angelo," he said, a slight blush on his cheeks as he looked up at me, "Will you always be my Death Boy?"

My heart was in my throat. Unable to speak for fear of bursting into happy tears, I simply nodded. A relieved smile spread across his face and he pulled the ring out of its box. He slipped it onto my left ring finger and I instantly flung my arms around his neck.

Nothing could've felt more right than the moment when we kissed.


End file.
